HOOVER, Ala. — SEC Media Days finished with a striped dog, a coach’s filibuster and a geography lesson. Here are the best and worst of Thursday:

BEST OF MEDIA DAYS

Is that a dog or a tiger?

In a week of odd images among fans, the dog painted like a tiny tiger was an appropriate end.

A Maltese named Tiger Jake donned tiger stripes painted on his fur while standing alongside his owner, Auburn fan John Sanford, in The Wynfrey Hotel lobby. The dog was perhaps the most photographed subject of the day in the fan pen, surpassing even coach Gus Malzahn’s brief appearance.

Sanford said Tiger Jake’s fur was painted over a full day in a three-phase process at a clinic under the supervision of a groomer and veterinarian. As a certified service dog, Tiger Jake is allowed inside Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Muschamp pokes fun at reporters

South Carolina coach Will Muschamp took the podium and immediately recognized the exhausted state of the reporters in the main ballroom. He first took a lighthearted shot at Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley. “Pat Dooley, what’s up?,” Muschamp said. “You remind me of that Josh Turner song, ‘You Look Like I Need a Drink.’ ”

And during the Q&A portion, Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi asked a question. Muschamp, a former Florida coach, replied, “You don’t have to identify yourself. They could use your voice to torture prisoners of war. I was waiting for a year to say that.”

Malzahn calms questioning with geography

Malzahn had previously given a mild thumbs-up to possible divisional realignment, moving Auburn to the East and Missouri to the West. It was an idea first floated by former Auburn coach Pay Dye and then endorsed by Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs at the SEC spring meetings in May.

Malzahn tried to distance himself from the conversation Thursday by saying he merely acknowledged the geography of a divisional switch. It was a good tactic to put aside a topic Commissioner Greg Sankey had already squashed.

“Coach Dye said something about the map and all of that. I just confirmed, yeah, if you look at the map, that does make sense,” Malzahn said. “I like it the way it is right now. I mean, the West right now is the best league in college football. It’s a man’s league.”

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Alabama head coach Nick Saban signs autographs at SEC Media Days through a throng of reporters and fans at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Alabama fan CJ Williams holds Alabama head coach Nick Saban's book in hopes to get it autographed by Saban during SEC Media Days at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, July, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Alabama head coach Nick Saban signs autographs at SEC Media Days through a throng of reporters and fans at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Alabama head coach Nick Saban signs autographs at SEC Media Days through a throng of reporters and fans at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

U.S. Army Reserve Master Sgt. Marcus Bell, left, reacts as Alabama head coach Nick Saban signs a placard commemorating a flag flown by Bell in Kobul, Afghanistan in honor of Saban during SEC Media Days at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, June 12, 2017. Bell has been waiting since 2014 to have Saban sign the plaque. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

U.S. Army Reserve Master Sgt. Marcus Bell holds a placard signed by Alabama head coach Nick Saban commemorating a flag flown by Bell in Kobul, Afghanistan in honor of Saban during SEC Media Days at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, June 12, 2017. Bell has been waiting since 2014 to have Saban sign the plaque. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

U.S. Army Reserve Master Sgt. Marcus Bell, left, smiles after Alabama head coach Nick Saban signs a placard commemorating a flag flown by Bell in Kobul, Afghanistan in honor of Saban during SEC Media Days at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, June 12, 2017. Bell has been waiting since 2014 to have Saban sign the plaque. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Alabama head coach Nick Saban arrives at SEC Media Days through a throng of reporters and fans at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Alabama head coach Nick Saban arrives at SEC Media Days through a throng of reporters and fans at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Alabama head coach Nick Saban arrives at SEC Media Days through a throng of reporters and fans at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Vanderbilt senior running back Ralph Webb laughs as a reporter mentions the rumor he was born in England during a press conference at SEC Media Days at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

A young LSU fan waits with his family as SEC fans wait for coaches and players to walk into SEC Media Days at The Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala. on Monday, July 10, 2017. Ayrika Whitney/USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

WORST OF MEDIA DAYS

Freeze’s filibuster almost goes the distance

Give Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze credit for endurance. But his lengthy opening statement of more than 15 minutes — which included long pauses and an extensive special teams breakdown — obviously was a way to limit questions about Ole Miss’ ongoing NCAA troubles.

Freeze said he wished to talk about his players and not drama around the program. But when asked whose fault that drama was, he said, “We obviously created it in and around the program. … So we have to own that.”

Pampered college players don’t like pro facilities

The Football Bowl Association conducted a survey to learn the likes and dislikes of teams’ bowl experiences. One complaint was that college players didn’t give high marks to the practice facilities at their bowl sites.

That’s understandable when it’s a local high school field. But FBA executive director Wright Waters said some players have complained about the drab conditions at some NFL facilities.

“These kids have practiced in the finest (college) training facilities in the world, and it’s only getting better,” Waters said. “But they look (at NFL facilities) and there are no waterfalls in the locker room.”

5-7 bowl teams are better than going ‘dark’

Mississippi State was among three teams with a losing record last season playing in a bowl. That unfortunately will continue to be a possibility, although a reduction from 41 bowl games last season to 40 this season could limit such instances.

Waters said he understands frustration with losing teams going to bowls, but it’s the lesser of two bad outcomes. The alternative is that a bowl is not played at all and it disappears.

“We hear all the time, ‘These teams don’t deserve to go. They don’t even have a winning record,” Waters said. “But people don’t understand the necessity of that. We simply can’t have a bowl go dark. There is too much preparation and a contract.”